Herhold: Comparing the Achilli and Kumra killings

Within the past five years, we have had two newsworthy killings within two-thirds of a mile of one another -- the 2008 murder of Mark Achilli in Los Gatos and the Nov. 30 killing of ex-Mountain Winery owner Raveesh "Ravi'' Kumra inside his Monte Sereno mansion.

On the surface, the cases hold similarities. Two victims who had been in the entertainment business. Two tony precincts. Two proceedings with multiple defendants.

But in ways both subtle and overt, our reactions to the two killings have taken markedly different paths.

In the Achilli murder, people in Los Gatos followed every development of the case, packing the courtroom for the trial of his killers. In the Kumra slaying, interest has surged and ebbed. No shrug, but no exclamation point either.

Lukis D. Anderson with his lawyer, Kelley Kulick, in court at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. (Patrick Tehan/Staff)
(Patrick Tehan)

True, there is much we do not know about the Kumra killing, though a woman and three men are in custody. But I'm convinced his slaying -- as terrible as any homicide is -- will never match the Achilli case in its resonance with the public.

Let me offer three reasons why, in no particular order. The first has to do with how and where it was carried out. The second touches on the character and identity of the victims and their killers. The last deals with motive.

THE LOCALE: Mark Achilli was killed in daylight in bloody fashion, shot multiple times in a carport not far from downtown Los Gatos. It was public enough for people to hear it and think of crossfire. Hundreds were affected by the police search.

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Kumra, meanwhile, was slain inside his mansion by means we still do not know. (The statue of President William McKinley in St. James Park is more talkative than the Los Gatos cops.) The same barrier that surrounds his house isolates the crime scene.

THE PEOPLE: The biggest difference in the reaction to the killings might be this: Mark Achilli was popular, while Ravi Kumra was not.

As the ex-owner of a heavily frequented bar and restaurant, Achilli enjoyed a wide circle of friends. By contrast, court files portray Kumra as leading a sordid lifestyle dominated by prostitutes, drugs and ugly business tactics. He was accused of arranging a sham divorce to protect his assets.

Add to that the identity of the accused killers: In the Achilli case, the conspiracy circled around Esequiel "Paul'' Garcia, an ambitious businessman who had coached football at Bellarmine. Kumra's accused killers all have criminal records and a low profile.

THE MOTIVE: In George Orwell's essay, "The Decline of the English Murder,'' he lamented impulsive, meaningless murders. Orwell would have understood the motive in the Achilli case: It was a love triangle, with Achilli and Garcia pursuing the same woman.

In the Kumra case, the killers ransacked the house and left with a coin collection, jewelry and cash. A 22-year-old prostitute has been arrested as an accessory. All that bespeaks a pedestrian motive.

Yes, more intrigue could emerge. But fair or not -- probably not -- something tells me the killing of Ravi Kumra will never evoke the sympathy given to Mark Achilli.